Vicious
by sephiroth-itachi
Summary: His father didn't understand - but Rufus did. Rufus knew what true killers were. They were wild, untamed... vicious. He saw the viciousness in their eyes. He wanted to own that viciousness. He wanted to own the Turks. Warning: Cursing and slight Yaoi implications if you squint.


**AN: **Hello reader! Been a long time, huh? This is a snippet of a FF7 story that I've been writing for fun. I've been going back and forth about posting it because I'm certain the finer game details will be wrong. The story takes place after _Crisis Core_ and before the original. It could also take place somewhere during the end of _Before Crisis. _To warn you though, I've never played or watched any of _Before Crisis_, so I apologize for any mistakes before hand.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own FF7 or any of its counterparts in this over-sized franchise.

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Six o'clock came without warning and just as asked, Tseng found himself among his Turks, all waiting in front of the President's office. He looked to either side of him. The numbers just seemed to dwindle away since the departure of his predecessor. Reno and Rude stood on either side of him - as they always did, as they always will. Beyond them were the faces of rookies and new comers. All of them were people that shouldn't be seen within the four walls of the Shin-ra building. However they were here, each of them with their own stories and backgrounds, but Tseng made them all the same. Tseng made them into nameless blue blazers and white shirts. He made them into the same weapons - dogs - that Veld had made of him. Now they were all to be shelved, pack away without a trace, to collect dust in unmarked coffins six feet under. That was the fate of useless tools, the cold and empty toolbox.

"Gya ha ha ha. It seems like the worthless all decided to assemble."

Heidegger. Tseng knew that awful laugh from anywhere.

"We were just waitin' fo you to finish the line up," Reno said hands deep in his pockets and smirk as present as always, "Fatman." The Turks surrounding him smirked at the blatant disrespect. Leave it up to Reno to make your ultimate demise worth sticking around for.

The senior officer blanched at the insult turning an ungodly color of red. Tseng grabbed Reno by his tieless collar, jerking around until he faced the embarrass man before them. The commander of the Turks may have hated the fat fucker but respect was to be given where respect was due and Heidegger clearly earned his, if Zack's early departure had anything to say about it. "Apologize," Tseng said eyes as cold as the death he usually brought.

Any of the rookies around them would have quickly surrendered to such a look, but not Reno. "I ain't apologizing for shit," Reno said, but stayed in Tseng's grasp, hands still deeply shoved into his pockets. Although he disobeyed, the simple gesture showed who was really in charge.

Tseng shook the other, "Do as I say."

"I already know what you thinking, Bossman," Reno said as he looked into his bosses cold eyes, "He don't deserve it. I give respect to skill, not to luck." Tilting his head while still in Tseng's hold, he looked the bearded man in the eyes, his own pair shooting oceanic fire, "That's all it fucking was, Tseng, fuckin' luck. He ain't better than you. He just cheated himself a better deck. That's all. He ain't gettin' my respect 'cuz of dat. Where I'm from we work hard for that respect. That fat fucker gotta earn it from me."

"Gya ha ha ha," Heidegger laughed again, holding his stomach as if it would suddenly split from his merriment, "You can't even keep your mutts on a leash, boy. How in the world did you expect to outdo me?" He laughed once again, arrogance and unearned haughtiness gracing the sound. "Maybe you should have held on to that bullet. I'm pretty sure Veld did a much better job than you, Wutain scum."

Tseng watched as Reno's eyes widened in anger, hands finally out of his pockets and wrapped around his ever present EMR, "What you call him?" The red head hadn't heard someone use the slur against Tseng in a long time and although the years has passed, he still regrets not being able to right the man that first spoke the words to his precious brother all those years ago.*

"What he is," the other replied, "The mere scum that I wipe from my boots after I leave that retched island full of savages."

Reno wrenched himself out of his superior's hold, turning his enraged eyes to his fellow senior Turks. Years of silent communication taught them what that look meant. Reno was about to do something reckless. His eyes always asked the same two questions: if Rude would back him and if Tseng would let him. Rude, like always, didn't move. This gesture alone silently told his partner that it was a question that should have never been asked. Tseng, on the other hand, looked to Reno with the same condemning eyes as earlier. He didn't have permission. "You shouldn't let him talk to you like that, Boss," Reno said as he barely contained his anger, "Just give me the word. Just give me the word and I'll fucking off 'im. I swear!"

"My, well aren't you the feisty one?" The doors to the office in front of them finally opened to reveal not the President but his son, Rufus Shinra. The newly turned twenty-two year old walked out of the room with elegance and grace that he could have never inherited from his father. Donned in all white, the man was reminiscent of melting white chocolate as it fell like a waterfall from fondue fountains. Hair was strawberry blonde and combed from his face, revealing icy blue eyes that were filled with cold amusement. He embodied what a Shinra was suppose to be, maybe what his father used to be before laziness and greed turned him into the slop he was. He stepped between the two adversaries, no worry showing on his fine features. He knew that Reno can kill him if he wanted to but he also knew that he wouldn't, because he couldn't, because he was Shinra and Shinra was god.

"Reno," Tseng's voice stilled the man into an angry standstill, the emotion still raging from the other's very soul. Tseng wanted to kill the man himself, for so many reasons, but he was a Turk. They killed for others, not themselves. That's what made them assassins and not murders. Veld taught them that difference and no matter what happens, Tseng would hold on to those teachings. As Genesis once told him, intelligence no matter from where, all held its own importance.* Veld's intelligence came from experience and that was the most valuable intelligence of all.

"Can't you see, Vice President Shinra," Heidegger said motioning to Reno as if the other proved his point, "These Turks are worthless. They can barely be controlled. It would be best if you got rid of them."

"Do you mind if I ask you something, Heidegger," the young Shinra heir said, spitting the name like mucus, "Have you ever seen a pack of vicious alley dogs?"

Heidegger tilted his head at the unexpected question, "I don't understand, Sir."

"Of course you don't. So let me explain. During my travels, I happened to come across three alley dogs. All of them were vicious, untamed, hungry and unfortunately chained to a nearby fence. An idiotic kitten happened to pass them by and as it slowly, arrogantly, strolled passed them the dogs snapped at the kitten that was just out of their reach. I personally felt sorry for the poor dogs, considering it must have been days since they last ate a _proper _meal," Rufus paused, running his fingertip along Tseng's jaw and looking into Reno's eyes, "And I set them free. Quickly they latched upon their prey ripping it to shreds before it could have even _considered_ running away."

Heidegger head was still tilted as he tried to grasp the meaning of the story, "I'm still confused, Sir."

"Those dogs were born bred killers," Rufus said more to himself as he reluctantly tore he eyes away from the Turks to look to Heidegger once again, "The moral to my story is that true killers are those that pull on those chains, ready and eager for the next kill. Trust me, if Tseng here were to release the chains he have on them, you'll be dead by now. No, you'll be ripped to shreds like the arrogant, idiotic kitten you are to these vicious alley dogs."

Tseng stared into the eyes of the man before him. He was trying to save them.

"But, Sir," Heidegger said as he tugged at the tight collar around his neck, "You give these fools too much credit. It was me that found that SOLDIER First Class."

"No," Rufus said eyeing the man with distain, "It was you that murdered thousands of our men to grab a hold of him, only to let him die and be of no further use. You're tactless and rash. My father has given you too much control. As soon as I'm in charge of this empire you will be the first thing to go."

The other flinched, "Vice President, Sir-"

"You may leave my presence now." With head down, the general did as was told.

"That was pretty good," Reno said, still angry but happy the man got what was coming to him.

"Don't think you're out of the woods yet, Fox," the Shinra said turning to them with eyes cold and harsh, "You still failed your mission and failure goes unforgiven."

The rookies showed slight fear from the words, taking steps back in hopes of being forgotten in the lineup, hiding in the shadows around danger like they were all taught. They know what the youngest Shinra was capable of. Flashbacks of the time he almost killed them all, popping up in the back of their minds. Tseng, however, stepped forward ready to take whatever punishment comes their way. He wasn't afraid of the boy then and he isn't afraid of the man now, "Why should we want your forgiveness," he asked standing in front of the Vice President.

"Do you wish for death instead," he answered.

"We all knew that it would come for us eventually. I've never been afraid of its call. If you're wishing to scare me, you'll need try harder than that."

Rufus eyed the man in front of him. He remembered the first time he laid eyes on the man. Tseng was nothing but a boy then, eyes the color of chocolates and skin the color of ivory. He remembers shaking hands with him and for years wanting nothing more than to touch his hand again. It was the hand of death. Even then, all those year prior, he knew those hands killed. Now looking at him, Rufus knew that this work of art had to become one with his collection.

No – he didn't just want Tseng; he wanted the fire of the red head, as well as the solid reassurance of the caramel man standing on the other side of Tseng. He wanted the fear and respect of their blue suits and the low dangerous snarls of their secretly hidden weapons and strength. He wanted their wit and conning. He wanted to feel the power that came with being the man that held their leashes. He wanted the Turks. Each and every one of them.

"I'll tell you why you should trust me," Rufus said as he looked the leader of death in the eyes, "Because I want you. I want you all to be mine. "

Tseng raised an eyebrow, "Why is that reassuring?"

"You've seen the extreme that I'd go to in order to obtain what I believe is mine." Oh, he saw. One of his Turks fell into a coma during the other's attempt to gain what was his. "And I can take better care of you. I know your needs. I feel your hunger. Let me and I'll feed them. I treat my dogs well."

"Tired of being somebody's dog," Reno said, "A pet is still just a pet."

"Maybe," Rufus said as the focused his attention to Reno, "But a dog is a man's companion."

"You think someone like you could keep tight hold on our leashes," Tseng said, a dark amusement in his eyes he hadn't shown since his teens, "Remember, that was something your father never had."

Bristling at the comparison, Rufus grabbed Tseng by the chin. He made sure he had the man's undivided attention before he spoke, "I am not my father. Don't you ever forget that. I'm going to rule this world in a way that my father only dreamed of. All I want is for you to come along for the ride."

Tseng knew then that this man was not his father. He was a man of intelligence and strength. He held a sense of danger that mimicked their own and his eyes shone of a man that would not be swayed and played with by the many manipulators and conmen that filled those conference chairs during meetings. He was a born leader and Tseng would follow the man, while keeping those that followed him in line and ready to be deployed as the young Vice President saw fit. He saw in Rufus' eyes a new world order and Rufus and his Turks would be the ones to bring it.

"What's the price of this 'ride'," the commander asked, not turning away from his grip. All the Turks, rookies and vets alike, looked on with anticipation. They never have seen Tseng like this, letting someone so close to him, submitting so willingly to someone else's touch. They all knew what it meant, like Reno earlier; Tseng knows who's in charge.

"Your lives," Rufus said his voice clear and unwavering. He knew without a doubt what he wanted and he knew he could have it, "And your loyalty."

He finally let go of Tseng's face, but stayed close. He knew that this Wutain was supposed to stay by his side.

"We ain't got no choice, right," Reno said all eyes once lost in the two leaders, snapping to him, "It's not like _we _can have our lives."

"My thoughts exactly," Tseng returned, fixing his given cuff-links* as he looked Rufus in the eye, "You can have our lives, but you must earn our loyalty. If you make the same mistakes as the man before you, our forgiveness cannot be won and you will see true viciousness. Unlike alley dogs, we're trained and we're precise. You don't want us released on you."

"I know," the Shinra smirked as he reached his hand out to shake, like many years prior, "I see what you do to those you are told to kill. I can only imagine what you would do to those you want to kill."

Tseng took the hand, the Shinra instantly feeling scars and calluses of a ruthless man. It felt just as he remembered. Now death was his to control and unleash on whomever he saw fit. His father may still be alive but it was him that ran Shin-ra and soon it would be him that ran the world beneath it.

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**AN: **The starred (*) sections all refer to different parts that are told earlier in the story. To sum it up Tseng and Reno grew up together after Reno's mother found him as a boy. One day someone called Tseng Wutai scum as a boy and Tseng hurt himself in response. (I won't go into detail. I might post this some day.) Later, before his disappearance, Genesis found interest in Tseng and took him under his wing. Veld taught him how to hold a gun but Genesis taught him how to be a man. He taught Tseng how to walk with elegance, dress with style, embrace both of the cultures he comes from and how to professionally handle himself. During those lesson Genesis picked him out cuff-links for his Turk suit.

I hope you all liked it,

Sephitachi


End file.
